Arrests and dropout rates are issues reflected in document.

Arrests and dropout rates are issues reflected in document.

Relative to the state of Indiana, South Bend recently had a higher rate of black juveniles committed to the Department of Correction and a high rate of black dropouts, according to a new report commissioned by Indiana Black Expo Inc. The numbers paint a grim picture of a city that Â? like Elkhart Â? must attack the root of todayÂ?s societal issues to address the needs of todayÂ?s black youth, local officials say.

Â?I think that they bring out the things that maybe we have not been thinking about that we didnÂ?t know,Â? Debbie Clark, of the South Bend chapter of the Indiana Black Expo, said Friday. Â?It also helps us when weÂ?re writing grants.Â?

Commissioned by the Indiana Black Expo and conducted by the Indiana Youth Institute, the Â?State of Our Black Youth Report, 2007 Biennial EditionÂ? was presented at the Elkhart chapter office Friday morning.

The report Â? the second one created since 2005 Â? presents statewide statistics on the health and well-being of black youth, as well as local data for 16 communities, including South Bend, Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Gary and Michigan City. The findings address families, economics, education, health, child maltreatment and high-risk behaviors.

Â?ItÂ?s a challenge,Â? said Arvis Dawson, executive assistant to the mayor of Elkhart. Â?I donÂ?t see it as negative. ItÂ?s a challenge, and we in Elkhart are prepared to meet that challenge.Â?

Statewide, almost two-thirds of black Hoosier families are headed by a single parent, more than three-quarters of births were to unmarried parents and the Indiana teen birth rate for black girls ages 15 to 19 exceeded the national average, according to the report.

In addition, while fewer than half of black freshmen graduate four years later during their senior year of high school, this rate increased more than 5 percent between 2000 and 2006. Hoosier black children also have higher rates of sexual abuse, neglect and physical abuse than black children in the United States.

Solutions include more teen pregnancy prevention programs, investments in worker training, family-centered resources and school choice for students in low-performing schools, the report says.

In South Bend, other weak areas officials found include a high rate of black infant deaths, school suspensions, expulsions, and black child and teen deaths. But strengths relative to state statistics include a low rate of black teen chlamydia and teen male gonorrhea, a low rate of black juvenile noncriminal case filings and a high percentage of black graduates planning to go to a two-year college, according to the report.

Clark, who did not see the report early Friday but anticipated seeing the results at a meeting Saturday, said several South Bend community leaders, school officials and ministers gathered in 2005 after the results of the report released then and will likely do that again this year. The dropout rate continues to be an issue, she said.

Â?I know a few that havenÂ?t graduated from high school but have nice computer skills,Â? Dawson said Friday. Â?ItÂ?s what I call a Â?technology hustle.Â? Â? But you need a certificate to do that, and we just have to instill the importance of education to our youth.Â?